By Stephen Mason
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After hitting rough waters in Lexington, the Tennessee Vols (32-17) found their mojo again Tuesday night, defeating the Presbyterian Blue Hose (10-39) 8-1.
Sophomore Nic Abraham started for the Vols, pitching two innings. In his short outing, he gave up two hits and one run to the Blue Hose, who took an early 1-0 lead.
It took a while for the Vols’ offense to get rolling. After loading the bases in the second inning, they failed to score.
In the third, the Vols finally got on the scoreboard and took the lead when Blake Grimmer and Trent Grindlinger both hit solo home runs. The ladder adds to Grindlinger’s already impressive freshman season.
“He’s been phenomenal. What he brings to the clubhouse and as a teammate… he brings a lot of intangibles that make our club better,” head coach Josh Elander said. “He hasn’t really given me a choice, and now I have to put him in there.”
However, the offense entered another lull, and it wasn’t until the sixth that they plated more runs. A red-hot Levi Clark, who has looked like a different player in SEC play, hit a two-run blast that scored Reese Chapman.
“I’ve just started to get my confidence back more and more, and hopefully that continues,” Clark said. “I’ve just been working on attacking the inside of the ball and reminding myself what I’m good at.”
Later in the inning, Garrett Wright hit a two-run shot of his own to give the Vols a comfortable lead.
Tennessee added two insurance runs in the eighth with a sacrifice fly by Stone Lawless that scored Blaine Brown from second, followed by a Jay Abernathy single that plated Tyler Myatt.
After Abraham’s brief showing, Elander used a carousel of relief pitchers. Tennessee’s pitching staff has struggled with consistency over the past few weekends of SEC play, so Tuesday night’s game was an opportunity for the first-year head coach to experiment.
In total, seven different pitchers saw action following Abraham’s departure, with each performing well.
The group recorded 11 strikeouts while giving up only one hit and no runs. The best performance came from freshman Will Haas, who struck out all three batters he faced.
However, the Vols will not be able to bask in this victory too long.
Perhaps their biggest challenge of the year awaits at the end of the week when No. 4 Texas comes into Knoxville for a crucial series.
The team will need to put the weekend in Lexington behind them and keep their composure as they try to pull off the series upset inside what should be an electric Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The matchup is personal for Elander, who has deep connections and respect for the Texas coaching staff.
However, he wants to push that storyline aside.
“I get that can be the narrative and whatnot, but this is Tennessee versus Texas at home in May. I am excited for our fans; this is a big one for our crew,” Elander said.
Up next: The first game of the Texas series is Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Elander’s thoughts on ABS in the SEC Tournament
Following Tuesday’s game, Elander shared his perspective on the latest addition to the upcoming SEC tournament: the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system.
Recently debuted in Major League Baseball, the technology will be implemented for all teams competing at the Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, AL.
“I think it’s a great idea and I’m excited to see how it plays out,” Elander said. “It will be a good test and add another cool element to the conference tournament.”
The ABS arrives with specific regulations. Each team is limited to three challenges per game. If a challenge is successful, the team retains it, similar to the challenge rules used in football. However, Elander noted that teams must remain disciplined with their usage.
“There has to be some sort of strategy for sure, and it would probably be good to connect with our pro ball connections and how they are using it, and in what capacity,” Elander said.
Elander is in a unique position to gather that intel, as the current manager of the San Francisco Giants, Tony Vitello, occupied his very office less than a year ago.